Israel To Reopen Main Crossing Point Into Gaza Strip For Goods

Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon on Monday announced the reopening of Israel’s Erez border crossing into the Gaza Strip for trucks and goods.

“It is in our interests that a significant amount of truckloads of food continues to go to Gaza,” a spokesman for Ya’alon said in a statement, AFP reported.

“It is our interest that Gazans live in dignity. Both from a humanitarian point of view and because this is a way to protect the peace, in addition to existing security deterrents,” he said.

Despite the announcement, Ya’alon did not give an immediate timetable for the reopening of the Erez crossing, saying that this “will not happen tomorrow or the day after.”

Currently, the Kerem Shalom crossing in southern Gaza in the only crossing for goods between Israel and Gaza, which is controlled by the Palestinian terror group Hamas. But according to Ya’alon, the crossing is facing congestion issues.

“At least half of what currently goes to Kerem Shalom” will be redirected to Erez, Ya’alon said.

The Erez border crossing was closed to the passage of goods in 2008 and currently only serves pedestrians.

Israel has maintained tight control over Gaza’s air, sea, and land crossings since Hamas took control there in 2006, due to the terror group’s use of materials such as cement and metal to build tunnels and rockets to attack Israel.